Cold Weather Dual Cam

[IXJ]

New here. I live in a region where temperatures drop below -20C for at least a few weeks every year and below -30C for several days. My car also takes a long time to warm up, often only starting to feel my fingers again by the time I finish my commute.

Looking at the dash cameras being discussed on the main site, I've noticed that pretty much every camera lists a minimum operating temperature as either -10C (if it has an LCD) or -20C (if it doesn't have an LCD). Is this going to be a problem during the winter? If it is an issue, how have others dealt with this and/or what dual cams should I be looking at?

 

[Nigel]

Just don't buy one with a battery, it must have a super capacitor for power backup.

For most super capacitor cameras, -40C should be possible, however it may be a little out of focus until it warms up. Not sure what temperature the LCD stops working at, but as long as you don't need to read it at -30 then I wouldn't worry, shouldn't harm it unless you freeze it while it is damp inside.

Using parking mode at -30 is probably not wise, but only because your car battery won't like it.

Viofo A129 should match you requirements, unless you have more to add...

 

[Dashmellow]

New here. I live in a region where temperatures drop below -20C for at least a few weeks every year and below -30C for several days. My car also takes a long time to warm up, often only starting to feel my fingers again by the time I finish my commute.

Looking at the dash cameras being discussed on the main site, I've noticed that pretty much every camera lists a minimum operating temperature as either -10C (if it has an LCD) or -20C (if it doesn't have an LCD). Is this going to be a problem during the winter? If it is an issue, how have others dealt with this and/or what dual cams should I be looking at?

I too live in a climate that can experience extreme cold temperatures. In many instances -20º C to minus -30º C will exceed the rated minimum operating temperature of the DSP in the camera. While this can indeed be an issue on some rare occasions it is not serious. Nevertheless, I have experienced certain cameras that simply refuse to boot up in such cold weather. The solution is simple however. Simply leave the camera plugged into the power source for a period of 30 to 60 seconds and the powered up circuitry will begin to warm up. Then unplug and re-plug the camera so that it reboots. After that you should be good to go long before your fingers warm up.

One issue to be aware of with dash cams in extreme cold is that rapid contraction and expansion of components can cause issues. I had a lens go out of focus one time when a camera warmed up from sub-freezing temperatures too rapidly. Most of the time you won't need to concern yourself with this but it is a concept to be aware of in your climate. So, when it is -30º C don't crank the heat on your defroster immediately; let your heater warm your cabin up a bit first.

 

[kamkar]

Yeas in a really hot or cold place, on those peak days it will be a good idea to have a open eye for your cameras operation.
I cant say i have heard of cameras getting killed off by severe cold, but delayed operation as mentioned above i have heard about.

Using parking mode at -30 is probably not wise, but only because your car battery won't like it.

And in that case you might also have something on the outside of the windscreen, though if it is just frost the camera heating up should reveal itself / create its own little defrosted peephole.